Val D'orcia 1

VAL D’ORCIA Sweet round-shaped hills, changing colour according to the season, low valleys along the Orcia river, parish churches and restored farms here and there, often hiding in a forest of cypresses. Such are the characteristics making the charm of Val d’Orcia incomparable, an extraordinary synthesis between nature, art and deeply rooted traditions. This beautiful area of Tuscany is under the authority of the Val d’Orcia Park, instituted to maintain and develop the heritage of a region to promote its typical produce. The fertile countryside of Val d’Orcia, cultivated with respect and wisdom, produces excellent wines, olive oil and high quality cereals. The landscape is deeply marked by man’s intervention aiming to enrich the natural beauty with sobre religious and civilian works of art. It is difficult to explain with words the serene charm emanating from the lands of Val d’Orcia in the spring, when the hills turn green, in the summer when the yellow colour of sunflowers and wheat fields dominates the area, in the beautiful fragrance of a variety of plants. In the south of Bagno Vignoni, olive groves, vineyards and cultivated fields are replaced by a Mediterranean bushland while in the Mount Amiata area opens out a thick forest of chestnut and beech groves. Mother Nature, especially generous with the Val d’Orcia’s people, did not forget to create thermal springs for rest and care. The Via Francigena goes through Val d'Orcia near the small village of Bagno Vignoni, visited by famous people and pilgrims. Already inhabited in the Etruscan period, the Val d’Orcia keeps architectural vestiges from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In San Quirico places to visit are the Collegiata, the Palazzo Chigi Zondadari and the Horti Leonini, whereas in Castiglione d'Orcia the Rocca degli Aldobrandeschi is worth visiting. 1 In fact, the whole territory of the Val d’Orcia can be regarded as a museum in the open air with all sorts of architectural and artistic works disseminated in the beautiful countryside. The major attractions are fortified villages, parish churches and farms in the heart of a breathtaking scenery. For instance, it is recommended to visit places like the village of Monticchiello, surrounded by 13th century walls, and those of Corsignano and Castelluccio, in the vicinity of splendid Renaissance villas, built by the noble families of the time to find rest there during hot summers. Val d'Orcia - UNESCO World Heritage Site Since 2004, Val d'Orcia has been one of the Italian sites inserted in the UNESCO world heritage list. The territory of Castiglione d'Orcia represents one of the major features of its landscape. Val d’Orcia is an exceptional example of the way the Renaissance used this type of landscape as an esthetically ideal background for a “good government”, a landscape celebrated by Sienese Renaissance painters. Present in some descriptions of landscape where people are depicted as living in harmony with nature, the pictures of the Val d’Orcia have deeply influenced the development of landscape philosophy, proving the UNESCO decision to be right. GASTRONOMY and TYPICAL PRODUCE In addition to its landscape and precious historic and artistic heritage, Val d’Orcia offers a myriad of gastronomic opportunities. The cult of the good table is deeply rooted in the culture of the Val d’Orcia where the link between territory and agriculture creates exceptional genuine products. This is a land where agricultural production is distinguished by a label certifying its origin according to strict criteria attesting its quality. The “Val d'Orcia” labels are found on honey jars, extravirgin olive oil and wine bottles, on pecorino cheese and on saffron sachets. The pecorino and other cheeses of this area taste good because of the aromatic herbs growing in the pastures where the cattle graze freely. Since 1999, to certify the quality of the local wines, the label DOC Val d'Orcia has been given to the Rosso, the Novello, the Bianco and the Vinsanto. On the hills surrounding Castiglione and San Quirico, olive trees are still cultivated in the traditional way, allowing to get an extravirgin olive oil which is among the best in Tuscany, with excellent organoleptic and nutritive characteristics. In a jar of honey, one can gather the many aromas of the plants growing in the meadows of the Val d’Orcia, like acacia, arbuttus berries, chestnut or pine. The culture of saffron corresponds to an old tradition, abandoned for long years but recently reintroduced. Precious and very costly, saffron flourishes in November, it is then grilled and reduced in powder: to obtain one kilo of this very special spice, it is necessary to use 150.000 saffron stigmas. 2 Near Mount Amiata, food is based on game, truffles and excellent porcini mushrooms. Sausage lovers will appreciate very good hams, pork or wild-boar sausages, salamis and finocchiona, while meat lovers will enjoy eating a beautiful bistecca di Cinta Senese. The pigs of Cinta Senese have been saved from extinction thanks to the passion of a few isolated cattle breeders and the pork meat is growing in fame because of its excellent quality. The pigs bred in the Siena countryside have a dark robe with white stripes and their meat is used to make salamis and sausages which are irresistible when cooked on a charcoal grill. On the dining-tables of the Val d’Orcia you find soups, crostini, casseroles, roasts and home-made pasta, fried vegetables and meat allowing to appreciate the local olive oil; with these exquisite dishes prepared with no haste you have to drink the local wines. In the summertime, the best way to discover the delicacies of the Val d’Orcia traditional gastronomy is to move from one village to another and enjoy the food festivals where it is easy to eat well without spending too much. A TOUR IN VAL D'ORCIA A visit of Val d'Orcia starts with SAN QUIRICO. Situated along the Via Francigena, this village was already a well-known destination for travellers and pilgrims in the Middle Ages. It still presents all the characteristics of a medieval village, with its 15th century walls and its fourteen towers. Outstanding in the heart of the historic centre we find the magnificent Romanesque Collegiata, built between the 12th and the 13th century with two impressive Romanesque portals decorated with bas-reliefs and sculptures. Inside there is a beautiful triptych by Sano di Pietro representing a Madonna col bambino in trono e quattro santi. Behind the Collegiata stands the Palazzo Chigi, an elegant building from the 17th century enriched by murals in the Roman style and there is also the ex-Palazzo Pretorio, with four medieval buildings. This is where the Visitors Centre of the Park of Val d’Orcia is located today. The winding via Poliziano is worthy of a stroll, lined by well maintained small medieval houses; it leads to the Porta dei Cappuccini, a polygonal dungeon almost intact. Near the Porta Nuova are situated the Horti Leonini, a well cared and lovely Italian garden, dated from the mid 1500s. The Collegiata Coming in from the north-west, on via Dante Alighieri (old Via Francigena or Romea) which divides the old village in half, we find the Chiesa Collegiata (12th century), dedicated to St Quirico and St Giuditta, with a beautiful portal dominating the main street of the village. 3 The church has been mentioned in archival documents since the 8th century but its present structure goes back to the 12th-13th centuries. The oldest part is the façade and especially its biggest portal. This façade is decorated by small arches and a Gothic rose-window. The magnificent Romanesque portal from the 12th century is preceded by a prothyron with an arch supported by columns standing on two lionesses. Inside the porch, there are five columns on the left hand side and five on the right, their capitals are decorated with animals and acanthus leaves. In the architrave is sculpted a bas-relief representing the fight between two monsters. In the centre of the lunette, the sculpture of a presumed effigy of San Damaso could, in fact, be identified as the representation of San Quirico. In the second half of the 13th century works of enlargement were done with the adjunction of a transept and two lateral portals along the Via Francigena, on the right hand side of the Collegiata where there are two gemeled windows. One of the side portal, in the Lombard style from the 13th century, is surmounted by a prothyron supported by two caryatids standing on lions. It is probably dated to 1288 and is attributed to Giovanni Pisano who was at that time (1287-1288) involved in the building of the Duomo in Siena. On the portal, an inscription in Gothic letters says “Iohes”, which could be interpreted as Pisano’s name or as a record of the old name of the church dedicated to St Quirico and St John the Baptist. A third Gothic portal from 1298 is found on the right hand side of the cross of the transept, a work by Lotto (referred to in an inscription on the architrave) who must have been responsible for the building of the transept; the portal presents a mix of Gothic and Romanesque features. Inside, the church is in the shape of a Latin cross with three apses, the nave is covered by wooden trusses and the arms of the transept by cross vaults. On the left side of the third archway there is the tomb of Count Enrico di Nassau (who died in San Quirico in 1415).

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